Group seeking election on downtown hotel pounds away

Citizens for Responsible Government is keeping the heat on City Hall over the downtown convention hotel.

The group is seeking an election on the proposed project near the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

“CFRG followed the process set forth in the city charter and the city should be held to the same standard,” the group said in a media statement Sunday night from its leader, Dan Coffey.

The council opted this month to not place the group’s petition initiative on an election ballot. The city attorney advised that the ballot language would force the city to violate its contract with hotel developers.

In the statement, CFRG accused the council of undertaking a “full-fledged attempt to dismantle the petition process and disregard or destroy the city charter.”

The group is continuing to solicit donations to finance legal action.

The 800-room hotel carries a $311 million pricetag. More than half the money would come from public sources.